This article is part of the series Scientific Virtues and the Fruit of the Spirit. Find other articles in the series here.
The apostle Paul once said:
‘If I am on track for receiving first class honours, attaining the highest grades of my cohort, but have not love, I will only possess a worthless piece of paper.
If I have a PhD position secured at a prestigious university, within a world-renowned lab and under the supervision of pioneers, but have not love, I have nothing at all.
If my research is groundbreaking and I am on the brink of a Nobel prize winning breakthrough, but have not love, I have discovered nothing at all.’
Okay, his words to the church in Corinth didn’t quite go like that (see 1 Corinthians 13, go have a read for yourself). But his address to a church who had mismatched loves and wrong motives is an apt place for us to dwell as we consider how love, as an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, should shape the way we go about our scientific studies and research. Without love it means nothing at all.
What do we mean by love?
In 1 Corinthians 13, the word Paul uses which we have translated as love is ‘agape’. Throughout the New Testament this is used to describe the active love of God for his Son and his people, and the active love his people are to have for God, each other, and even enemies. It describes a generosity, a kindly concern, a devotedness. A sacrificial, self-giving love.
The love described here isn’t an intense feeling of deep affection, or a great interest and pleasure in something. Paul didn’t long to see the church in Corinth shaped by fleeting passions which can ebb and flow, changing more readily than the seasons. He longed to see a church imitating the active, self-giving love that had been personified in the Lord Jesus Christ. A love that is faithful, constant, and stands the test of time. And this is the love that we are to live out in our daily lives, on campus, in the library, in the lab.
But how do we love like this? What does it look like? Let’s work through the ways in which Paul describes this love in the rest of the passage.
Love is…
Patient. This means to be slow toward others, bearing with them in everything. To be long suffering in our dealing with others. Yet this can be so easily challenged when working in science. How do we react when peers in the lab repeatedly do not listen to us or our ideas? How do you treat a group project member who just doesn’t seem to understand a concept, or never seems to do the work required? Let us dwell on how Christ patiently deals with us in his love day after day and may we long to reciprocate that love to those around us.
Kind. Love is to be gentle. We see this in full clarity when considering the life and ministry of Jesus, in his dealing with the needy and lowly individuals he encountered. Do we have a similar disposition to those around us at university?
Does not envy. Are you bitter and resentful when others around succeed in their work? Are you jealous of the attention or opportunities that your peers receive? The love Paul speaks of is not dissatisfied with what we have been given. It is not in opposition to the prosperity and happiness of others as compared with our own. It does not envy.
Is not boastful or arrogant. There is no boastful bragging with this love. No overestimation of abilities, achievements or importance. This love is more concerned to give of itself, instead of raising oneself on a pedestal above others. This flies in the face of all that we seem to be told today. ‘You must make a name for yourself. Build your profile. Make yourself stand out.’ Let us be different. Are you more concerned to see others built up? Will we fight the urge to boast about grades, feedback and successes in the lab?
Is not rude. When under pressure with deadlines, or in the middle of a busy, stressful day in the lab, how will you react when someone interrupts your work, and you lose your train of thought? Do you excuse your rude behaviour because of long workdays and lack of sleep? A person pursuing this love does not act dishonourably, they guard their heart from arrogant and rude behaviour.
Does not insist on its own way. Are you prepared to give up what you may be entitled to for the sake of others? Would you be willing to bite your tongue instead of voicing and insisting on your own ideas, even if they might be ‘better’? And when this is hard, may the Spirit turn your gaze upon Jesus who 'being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used for his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing' (Philippians 2).
Does not rejoice at wrongdoing. A life shaped by this love does not delight in iniquity or unrighteousness, it does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers. Will you seek to live a righteous life in the scientific arena? How does a desire to live in obedience to God’s word permeate every aspect of your work? How would you respond to accounts of individuals cutting corners, fudging data, or chatting badly about participants or colleagues?
Rejoices with the truth. The joy of science is that we can interrogate the world around us. We seek truth day after day in God’s creation, and we delight in this. We rejoice at scientific breakthroughs and discoveries. But above all else do we delight in the Truth? In God’s Word. In Jesus who is the Truth. That should be the foundation of our joy in science and should characterise our love.
Finally… a person. Our God (1 John 4). The Lord Jesus Christ. In him the ‘love of God was made manifest among us’. Sent in love as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, so that we might live through him. Love originates from God, and this love should be a distinguishing mark of a Christian as we live out our days.
May your gaze be fixed on Him as you seek to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.
Questions to reflect on:
- Which aspect of this love stands out to you the most? What would be the most countercultural in your university environment?
- Which area do you need the Lord’s mercy and grace for?
- Choose an aspect of this love, pray asking that the Lord would graciously work in this area. Pray that you may see growth, and it would impact those around you.
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